Cash back credit cards are a great and easy way to earn extra money just by paying with your credit card. However, determining the best cash back card for your particular spending habits can be an almost impossible task due to the complexity of most card calculations. Extra earnings for common category purchases like gas or groceries, quarterly rotating extra cash-back categories, and annual earnings limits are just a few of the obstacles card issuers throw at you. But rest easy — we've done the heavy lifting to help you figure out exactly which cash back card is best for you.

CUSTOMIZE THE CASH BACK TOTALS TO YOU:

Click the icon below and see the savings of each card based on your specific monthly expenses

Our Review Summary:
A summary of the cash back values in our Cash Back Credit Card Analysis appears in the chart below. We used actual user purchase amounts to determine each card's rankings (How we calculated the earnings). To find the best card for your own spending style, fill out the Personalized Cash Back Calculator to the right.

Best Cash Back Credit Cards

10% cash back at Amazon for first 6 months (up to $200 back); 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6K in purchases; $150 intro bonus; 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. Terms apply.

Total*

Year 2*

Year 1*

$150

$0

$150

Bonus

$722

$361

$361

Reward from spending

$190

$95

$95

Annual Fee

$682

$266

$416

Total Cash Back

Card Highlights:

Apply by 1/11/2017- Earn 10% cash back on purchases at Amazon.com in the first 6 months, up to $200.

Plus, earn $150 back after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new card within the first 3 months.

You will receive cash back in the form of statement credits.

Everyday Cash Back: 6% at U.S supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%); 3% at U.S gas stations; 1% other purchases. Terms and limitations apply.

No rotating reward categories. No enrollment required.

Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit. You can only earn cash back on eligible purchases.

0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months, then a variable rate, currently 13.24% to 23.24%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors.

Card Highlights:

You could turn $200 into $400 with Cashback Match™. We'll automatically match all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year. New cardmembers only.

Earn 5% cash back in new bonus categories each quarter like gas, restaurants, Amazon.com and more, up to the quarterly maximum each time you activate. Plus, unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Redeem your cash back for any amount, any time. Cash rewards never expire.

100% U.S. based customer service.

Get your FICO® Credit Score for free on monthly statements and online.

Double your cash back at end of 1st year; 0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months

Total*

Year 2*

Year 1*

$174

$0

$174

Bonus

$348

$174

$174

Reward from spending

$0

$0

$0

Annual Fee

$522

$174

$348

Total Cash Back

Card Highlights:

Discover matches all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year - automatically. Only for new cardmembers.

Earn 5% cash back in new bonus categories each quarter like gas, restaurants, Amazon.com and more, up to the quarterly maximum each time you activate. Plus, unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Good Grades Rewards: $20 cash back each school year your GPA is 3.0 or higher for up to the next 5 years.

No annual fee. No late fee on first late payment. No APR change for paying late.

Get 100% U.S. based customer service & your FICO® Credit Score for free on monthly statements & online.

Cash rewards do not expire as long as your account is open, active and in good standing

0% introductory APR for 15 months on Balance Transfers made within 45 days of account opening. After that a variable APR will apply, 14.99%, 19.99% or 24.99%, based on your creditworthiness. Please note, there is a fee for balance transfers

Smart pick for those with average credit; 1.5% cash back on all purchases

Total*

Year 2*

Year 1*

$0

$0

$0

Bonus

$396

$198

$198

Reward from spending

$78

$39

$39

Annual Fee

$318

$159

$159

Total Cash Back

Card Highlights:

Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day

No rotating categories or sign ups needed to earn cash rewards; plus, cash back doesn't expire and there's no limit to how much you can earn

Get access to a higher credit line after making your first 5 monthly payments on time

Fraud coverage if your card is ever lost or stolen

Use online banking to access your account, even from your smartphone, with our mobile app

Help strengthen your credit for the future with responsible card use

We have made our best efforts to ensure the information in this calculator is correct and up-to-date, but we cannot guarantee its accuracy. You should always check the terms and conditions of your card on the card issuer's web site before you apply to be certain of the latest terms of each card.

* Due to rounding, the Total Value may not always be the sum of Year 1 and Year 2. The cash back earnings seen here are estimates based on the information provided by both yourself and the each credit card company's terms and conditions. The actual earning may vary if your real-life purchase amounts differ or if the credit card terms and conditions change. You should always check the terms and conditions of your card on the card issuer's web site before you apply to be certain of the latest terms of each card. We made the following assumption in our calculations. Citi Double Cash Card: We assumed a 2% cash back reward based on the user paying off each purchase. Barclaycard CashForward World MasterCard: We assumed users would earn the 5% redemption bonus and included that in the calculation for the card. All Discover Cards: It was assumed that cash back rewards are doubled at the end of Year 1. Capital One Journey Student Rewards: We included the pay-on-time bonus equal to 25% of the cash back you earn each month.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.

How We Calculated the Earnings

We based the cash back earnings of each card in our analysis on actual user data we've collected over the last 15 months. Real-life users of our Cash Back Calculator told us that on a monthly basis they spend $300 on groceries, $180 on gas, $150 on dining out, $25 at department stores and $444 on everything else. We used this spend breakdown to determine the initial cash back card rankings.

After making these assumptions, we used each credit card's earning percentages to calculate how much money the average cardholder could expect to earn annually. We included any cash back bonus offers, deducted any annual fees and kept in mind any earning limitations. Two years worth of calculations were done — one for Year One which includes any extra cash back bonuses the card might offer, and one for Year Two during which time these extra cash back bonuses wouldn't apply. The formulas for each of these are below.

Year One Total Cashback = Cashback Earned + Year One Cashback Bonus - Annual Fee

Year Two Total Cashback = Cashback Earned - Annual Fee

Customize & Calculate Your Savings

How much do you plan to spend on your card each month?

We calculate Annual Savings by adding up your expected rewards, subtracting all fees and averaging that total savings over a two year period. Recalculate Annual Savings for your specific spending habits by editing the values below.

Total

$

Gas

$

Grocery

$

Dining

$

DeptStores

$

Other

$

Airlines$

Amazon®$

Costco®$

Hotels$

Home Improvement$

Sam's Club®$

Car Rentals$

Movies$

BJ's$

Taxis$

Local Transportation$

Other$

Other Travel$

Drugstores$

How We Calculate Your Annual Savings

To calculate the cashback earnings of each card we used a basic formula, taking into account each card's earning percentages and limitations. We include any cash back bonus offers, deducted any annual fees and kept in mind any earning limitations. Two years worth of calculations are done - one for Year One which includes any extra cash back bonuses the card might offer, and one for Year Two during which time these extra cash back bonuses won't apply.

Advertiser Disclosure: NextAdvisor.com is a consumer information site that offers free, independent reviews and ratings of online services. We receive advertising revenue from most but not all of the companies whose products and services we review. For credit cards, we review cards from all of the top 10 US issuers by purchase volume (according to Issue 1035 of The Nilson Report, Feb 2014) excluding issuers that require additional accounts to be a cardholder and private label issuers. We may also review cards from other issuers in select cases. We do not review all products in a given category. We are independently owned and operated and all opinions expressed on this site are our own.